IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 290 

Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy laws. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 2, 2015 

Mr. PITTS (for himself and Ms. JACKSON LEE) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy laws. 

Whereas Article 18 of the International Declaration of 

Human Rights affirms that everyone has the right to 

freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; 

Whereas this right includes freedom to change one’s religion 

or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with 

others and in public or private, to manifest one’s religion 

or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; 

Whereas many countries have blasphemy laws that punish expression deemed blasphemous (contemptuous of God or 

sacred things), defamatory of religion, or insulting to religion or religious symbols, figures, or feelings, and such 

punishment can include fines, imprisonment, and even 

death; 


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•HRES 290 IH 

Whereas blasphemy laws are inconsistent with international 

human rights standards, as they protect beliefs over individuals and often result in violations of the freedoms of 

religion and expression which are protected under international instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 

(ICCPR); 

Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated in General Comment 34 that ‘‘[p]rohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the 

[ICCPR].’’; 

Whereas an international group of experts convened by the 

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for 

Human Rights recommended in the 2012 Rabat Plan of 

Action that ‘‘[s]tates that have blasphemy laws should repeal the[m] as such laws have a stifling impact on the 

enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief and healthy 

dialogue and debate about religion.’’; 

Whereas blasphemy laws also are inconsistent with consensus 

United Nations resolutions adopted since 2011 that recognize that religious intolerance, discrimination, and violence are best fought through positive measures, such as 

education, outreach, and counter-speech, and that criminalization is appropriate only for incitement to imminent 

violence; 

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has found that blasphemy 

charges often are based on false accusations and used for 

political purposes, and exacerbate religious intolerance, 

discrimination, and violence; 


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•HRES 290 IH 

Whereas the Pew Research Center has found that 44 countries had blasphemy laws as of 2012; 

Whereas these laws were present in 14 Middle East and 

North African countries, 11 countries in the Americas, 9 

Asia-Pacific countries, 7 European countries, and 3 SubSaharan African countries; 

Whereas the Pew Research Center also found in 2011 that 

countries with laws against blasphemy, apostasy, or defamation of religion were more likely to have high government restrictions on religion or social hostilities based on 

religion than countries that do not have such laws; 

Whereas Saudi Arabia has used criminal charges of blasphemy to suppress discussion and debate and silence dissidents, and publicly flogged Raif Badawi 50 times as 

part of a punishment for a blasphemy conviction; 

Whereas Badawi was sentenced in May 2014 to 10 years in 

prison and 1,000 lashes, and fined $1,000,000 SR 

($266,000) for, among other charges, insulting Islam and 

religious authorities; 

Whereas USCIRF also reports that Egypt has seen a significant increase in the use of blasphemy-type laws since the 

January 25, 2011, revolution, including during and after 

the Morsi era; 

Whereas in January 2015, Egyptian atheist student Karim 

Al-Banna was given a 3-year prison sentence for blasphemy because a court found some of his Facebook posts 

to ‘‘belittle the divine’’; 

Whereas in June 2014, Coptic Christian Kirollos Shawqi 

Atallah was sentenced to 6 years in prison for ‘‘defaming 

Islam’’ on a Facebook page; 


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•HRES 290 IH 

Whereas USCIRF has found that in Pakistan and Egypt, the 

blasphemy laws have been used more against Muslims, 

but disproportionately impact these countries’ small 

Christian minorities; 

Whereas according to a Pew Center Report on Religion and 

Public Life, Pakistan is one of a handful of countries 

that stand out as having the highest levels of restrictions 

on religion when both government restrictions and social 

hostilities are taken into account; 

Whereas USCIRF has found that the most egregious example 

of the enforcement of blasphemy laws and vigilante violence connected to blasphemy allegations is Pakistan, 

where blasphemy charges are common and numerous individuals are in prison, with a high percentage sentenced 

to death or life terms; 

Whereas, as of February 2015, USCIRF is aware of 18 individuals on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan, and 20 

serving life sentences; 

Whereas Aasia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 

2010, and the Lahore High Court upheld the conviction 

in late 2014; 

Whereas her case is on appeal to the Supreme Court; 

Whereas blasphemy laws in Pakistan have fostered a climate 

of impunity, as those who falsify evidence go unpunished 

and allegations can result in mob attacks or assassinations, with little to no police response; and 

Whereas in November 2014, Christians Sajjad Maseeh and 

his wife Shama Bibi were beaten to death and thrown in 

a brick kiln after allegations of blasphemy were made 

against them, and in May 2014 Muslim human rights atVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:58 Jun 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR290.IH HR290

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•HRES 290 IH 

torney Rashid Rehman was assassinated for defending 

someone accused of blasphemy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes that blasphemy laws inappropri3 ately position governments as arbiters of truth or re4 ligious rightness as they empower officials to enforce 

5 particular religious views against individuals, minori6 ties; 

7 (2) calls on the President and the United 

8 States Department of State to make the repeal of 

9 blasphemy laws a priority in its bilateral relation10 ships with all countries that have such laws through 

11 direct interventions in capitals and in multilateral 

12 fora; 

13 (3) encourages the President and the United 

14 States Department of State to oppose any efforts at 

15 the United Nations or other international or multi16 lateral fora to create an international anti-blasphemy 

17 norm, such as the 1999–2010 ‘‘defamation of reli18 gions’’ resolutions, or attempts to expand the inter19 national norm on incitement to include blasphemy or 

20 defamation of religions; 

21 (4) supports efforts at the United Nations to 

22 combat intolerance, discrimination, or violence 

23 against persons based on religion or belief without 

24 restricting expression, including United Nations 


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1 Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 of 2011 

2 and the Istanbul Process implementation meetings, 

3 consistent with the first amendment of the United 

4 States Constitution; 

5 (5) reaffirms the decision to designate Saudi 

6 Arabia a ‘‘country of particular concern’’ for, among 

7 other reasons, continuing to detain and imprison 

8 people for blasphemy and for imposing torture, 

9 cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punish10 ment, and limit the waiver on this designation to no 

11 more than 180 days; 

12 (6) calls on the President and the Department 

13 of State to designate Pakistan and Egypt each as a 

14 ‘‘country of particular concern’’ under the Inter15 national Religious Freedom Act for perpetrating and 

16 tolerating particularly severe violations of religious 

17 freedom, including abuses flowing from the enforce18 ment of its blasphemy law and from vigilante vio19 lence around blasphemy allegations that takes place 

20 with impunity; 

21 (7) urges the Governments of Pakistan, Saudi 

22 Arabia, Egypt and the governments of other coun23 tries to amend or repeal their blasphemy laws as 

24 they provide a pretext for impunity or violence 

25 against religious minorities; and 


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1 (8) urges those countries that have imprisoned 

2 people on charges of blasphemy to release them un3 conditionally and, once released, ensure their safety 

4 and that of their families. 

Æ 


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